Builder Resources

After I drilled the F-623 side ribs, I needed to trim the aft portion of it to clear where it bumps into the F-706 bulkheads. I clamped a ruler against the skin to indicate where the bulkhead will be.

The finished product.

These are two of the forward straps used. The plans have you make these things 3/4"

And this is where the straps go.

On the top and middle of this strap, you can see where one of the rivets could go. These straps are way to wide. I slimmed them down to 1/2" and it cleared that one oddball hole correctly.

This is the modified strap in place and drilled.

And here is the aft strap in place. There isn't a whole lot of edge distance to work with...I was able to pull 5/32" which is about as good as you can get. I don't see it being a big deal.

Next I made the 1 7/16" spacers that go between the F-704 bulkheads. I made them out of some 2x8" or 2x10" wood. I used my compound miter box saw to cut these to the exact size. However, it looks like my saw is a little out of true - I needed one layer of electrical tape to make it perfect - within a couple thousandths. Good enough for me. I put two 1/2" holes to accommodate the 7/16" bolts to passthrough.

The spacers in place.

I drilled the skin to the forward 704 bulkhead the attached the side doublers.

Next I countersunk the 4 holes on the forward top skin as indicated in the instructions. I did this now do the bulkhead can act as a pilot for the countersinking bit.

I took some of it apart and set it back on the bench.

Next was onto the crotch strap seatbelt installation. Everyone says installing this thing now is the best time because of the great access.

This is the basic way that it gets put in. I will work on this another night. This should be the last thing I need to do before I can start prepping and priming the center fuselage parts.